A Plea for Help from Utopia (FT/AnyT | Open)

[Planeian Rebellion]

...It has been 23 years. 23 long years since the galaxy has heard from the Planeians. Once a shining beacon of science, freedom, and utopia, now a ghost of the past, lost within memory. The expats got the call, that the homeworld needed them back, and so many of them returned. Then, nothing. The borders to Planeian space were shut tight, with every wormhole and gateway effectively being closed, and all communication was lost. The homes, towns, and colonies they built in their wake lay dormant; completely abandoned ghost towns, sprawling technological centers that were either salvaged by black market scavengers or mother nature. It was as if the Planeians had never existed...

Arcthro Letium, Planeia
October 18th, 2048

Aiya looked up at the massive holobanner that sprawled across the side of the skyscraper. It was a wanted poster, seeking her arrest, showing her face and distinct green hair, as well as a profile view of her head. "WANTED" the banner read, "Dr. Aiya Elanato: Dead or Alive, 5,000,000,000 credits." Aiya had gone from Planeia's most respected dignitary and adored hero, to its most wanted fugitive and feared menace. They would have the world believe that she's a terrorist, when in reality she is not charged with terrorism, but dissidence. She dared stand up to the tyranny she saw, and become the face of dissidence, its leader.

It was raining heavily, leaving Aiya's blue skin soaking wet. It rained a lot more often in the city in recent days, and Aiya saw it as an ominous reminder of the gravity of her mission, why she was there today. If she were to fail her mission today, all hope would be lost.

In order to stand in the middle of Arcthro Letium without being identified, she had a sophisticated disguise, thanks to her constantly updated signature suit that allows her to change outside appearance at will. Her hair was blue instead of green, and her face had a different structure than what she normally has. Furthermore, she was wearing a hoodie, which got soaked in the rain. As she returned her focus from the banner to the task at hand, she held a determined look on her face, needing nothing more than to accomplish her mission.

She looked across the street, through the large crowds of pedestrians and cyclists at a small building. This building had a large sophisticated antenna at the top. It was a comms building, with the power to communicate with the entire galaxy, repurposed to coordinate policing efforts across Planeian territory. As such, it was heavily guarded, with drones and soldiers alike patrolling its perimeter, scanning anyone that got too close. They held lethal laser rifles, breaking eons of tradition of using non-lethal weapons as a preference.

Aiya brought her wrist near her mouth. "This is Shai Actual to Trogblast Three. I'm seeing a vulnerability in patrol patterns near the southeast corner. This is a go for diversion C, over." She whispered through the radio enabled through her holowrist device.

"Copy that, Shai Actual, preparing for detonation on your command, over."

"Shai Actual to Fighter One, as soon as I make the perimeter, be ready to breach through the gate, over."

"Loud and clear, my men are ready to mobilize, over."

Aiya took a deep breath in, before closing her eyes. She stood there in silence for a minute, before finally opening her eyes, retinas glowing magenta now. "Trogblast Three, detonate diversion C now!" Before even finishing her sentence, Aiya used her psionic powers to create a telepresence around the corner of a nearby intersection. She saw a parked hovercar, and several people around it. Using her powers, she pushed every one of them as far from the car as she could, magenta shock waves materializing around them. Mere milliseconds later, the hovercar exploded in a huge fireball from the bomb installed in the anti-grav drive.

True to her not being a terrorist, as the lie is commonly told, she didn't want anyone to be hurt by the explosion. She merely wanted to create a diversion, and it worked. The soldiers at the compound hastily marched toward the direction of the explosion to investigate. Amidst the chaos and confusion as civilians ran from the explosion in fear, Aiya blended through the crowd to make her way to the building. Once there, she quickly used her powers to levitate herself towards one of its windows, sneaking through before she could be seen. She was now inside the building, in a supply closet.

Once inside, she removed her hoodie and deactivated her disguise, revealing her real face and her suit, then withdrew a small device, placing it on the ground. Immediately, the device disbursed a small energy field in the shape of a portal, and through it came several armed rebels on Aiya's side.

"Ma'am." The leader of the squad, Fighter One, said as he gave her a one armed chest salute, rifle in the other arm.

Aiya's hand glowed magenta as she used telekinesis to lift the device from the ground, before disintegrating it. "We cannot allow this Dystan-based teleportation technology to fall in the hands of the regime, it would give them a major upper hand." Aiya said. "That's the last thing we need right now."

"What are our orders now, ma'am?" Fighter asked.

"We're to locate the control room and deliver the message." Aiya said as she created another telepresence investigating the rest of the building. "From the looks of it, the route to the control room is relatively clear. Let's not waste another moment, move out!"

Aiya opened the door, her hands glowing as she prepared for any combat (she preferred using her powers over a gun). She quickly sneaked through the halls, the squad following closely behind her.

It didn't take too long for them to reach the control room. There were two technicians inside the control room. Before they could sound the alarm, Aiya quickly levitated them both and knocked them together, knocking them out cold. The rebels locked the door behind them, then a couple of them went to the consoles to control the comms tower.

Aiya took in yet another deep breath, then looked at her men. "Begin the transmission."

Soon, the tower would connect to every possible receiver or device that happened to be listening all across the galaxy, Aiya's face appearing in video format.

"People of the galaxy, you may or may not remember me or my people, the Planeians. That is irrelevant, for now I come to you for your help. Over the past 23 years, Planeia has changed. Barzo Snetpoka, CEO of Planeian conglomerate Snetpoka Industries, has taken over our government via coup d'etaut, assassinated our leaders, and installed an oppressive regime over us. He has created mass surveillance programs throughout our systems, taken complete control of our media, stripped the rights of non-Planeians and those who protect them, and executed any who oppose him in a genocidal rage. To prevent what he has done from becoming galactic knowledge, he has closed our borders and cut all communication with the rest of the galaxy. This ends today, for now you know. I implore you to please, come to our rescue, we have been fighting the Snetpoka Regime for 23 years but we cannot fight for much longer without outside help. To any Planeians who still find themselves outside Planeian borders, you are part of the resistance now, the homeworld calls for your help. Again, this is a call for help to any who receive this-"

The transmission was abruptly interrupted, as an explosion was heard on the roof of the building...

[Planeia]

Greetings,

To all who have received that recent transmission, please disregard the blatant lies told within it. Aiya Elanato is a terrorist and has murdered innocent Planeian lives in the name of her massive ego, and will stop at no length to undermine those who disagree with her. Planeia has undergone a peaceful transition of government, with leadership given to the wonderful Barzo Snetpoka, a fine man with an eye for the future. Under his leadership, employment has skyrocketed, the economy has been prosperous, and crime is at an all time low. There is still much progress to be made towards rebuilding our economy, and as such we have adopted an isolationist approach with regards to interstellar relations so that we may focus on improving Planeia first before all else. No assassinations, no coups, no executions, just Barzo Snetpoka building a prosperous Planeia.

[Camila I]

"So, I asked her, if our bloodline is so great, why not just make the shipmind out of, like, twenty of us instead?"

From across the room, Shiyasa's eyes twinkled with amusement. She reclined, stretching all seven of her limbs as far as they would go in the zero-grav environment, her pale yellow tendrils curling and uncurling at the tips. The fur blanket that she had wrapped around herself followed the motions of her arms and legs, briefly lending her the appearance of a flying squirrel, or some such. Curling herself back up, she reached out one foot and deftly moved a piece on the board that hovered between her and her twin.

"Well? What did she say?"

Firelight flickered across the board as Alayo tilted his eyestalk forward to examine her move. Apparently it wasn't anything too unexpected, as he replied shortly thereafter. "I don't exactly remember," he said, and moved his own piece. "Something about how our line was lucky, and they didn't want any brain surgery to mess with that."

Shiyasa laughed, a light chattering reminiscent of running water. "For atheists, those surface-dwellers sure are a superstitious lot."

In response, Alayo ran his hand down one of his own, equally pale tendrils, toying with it as a human might toy with their hair. Shiyasa giggled again - the meaning was obvious to her.

Both she and her twin brother were artificial, in the sense that they were grown in artificial wombs, using genetic material extracted from their late mother and father. In life, neither of their parents had wanted children - a grievous sin in the eyes of the government, and one which obviously needed to be corrected once their legal self-ownership had expired. Their yellow tendrils, and specifically the light butter-yellow boasted by the twins, had become associated with inborn strategic talent, to the point that Shiyasa wouldn't have been surprised if mentioning their petal color would have been enough to get the proposal through by itself.

The Camilan was just extending her foot to react to her brother's move when she noticed movement to her left, and paused. She turned her eyestalk so that both eyes could face the source at once. A spectral entity, not so much lit by the campfire as it was emitting its own light. Aside from that, and from the dark and pale stripes that ran its entire body, chimera-like, the entity resembled one of them. Shiyasa opened her beak in greeting.

"Hey Adamant. Nice avatar."

"I am glad you think so," the ghost replied, its voice pure and synthetic. "I thought it may be a little too morbid for our situation." As it spoke it hovered closer, until it floated equidistant from the two of them. It glanced at the board state with mild interest.

"Hmm," Shiyasa said after a moment. "No, just the right amount of morbid, I think."

"I apologize for the rather sparse accommodations," the ghost continued. The two flesh-and-blood Camilans glanced around at their surroundings - smooth stone walls, a fire contained by nothing, and the only soft surfaces consisting of furs and pelts. "Some of the interfaces ceased functioning during our trip - I didn't want to risk using them until I was certain they were fully repaired."

"No, no, it's fine. Don't worry about it," Alayo said. "Shiyasa's company is more than enough."

"That is good to hear." The ghost looked at the board again. "It would seem the two of you have mostly solved this one."

"Yeah, the first few games were really fun," Shiyasa said, her tone suggesting nothing but complete sincerity.

"Then I am glad my invention has served its purpose." The Camilans dipped their eyestalks in affirmation. A brief silence fell over the three of them - the game abandoned as the twins watched the phantom with interest. They had only been conscious for what, to them, felt like a few hours - yet whether it actually was a few hours, or whether something more urgent was going on, only Adamant could tell them. After a few moments, it spoke. "We are nearly at our destination. We will exit slipspace in orbit around one of the two gas giants in the system - currently the closer one to the signal's planet of origin. The other ships' courses have all been calculated correctly as well - they will emerge at various other points around the same body."

"Good," Alayo said. Then, "Good job."

The ghost merely dipped its head in a slight bow. "I've already tested communications with all of the other vessels - they are operational. Pinging all of their control systems indicates minimal damage, all of which can be repaired by the time we arrive."

"Great!" Shiyasa tilted her eyestalk. "Any unexpected signatures to be aware of?"

"None that are detectable from slipspace." By this, the ghost meant no gravitational signatures - everything else, notably visible light, they were blind to as long as they remained phased out. "Of course, we should expect to be wrong about that."

"Naturally." The Camilan gave a wry smirk. "If everything's going so well, then I guess your visit was just a formality, huh?"

The ghost smiled placidly. "Oh, my apologies. I didn't realize that your 'game' was so engaging. If I am intruding on your privacy, please, let me know."

Shiyasa burst into peals of awkward laughter, covering her beak with two tendrils to stifle the noise. Her brother simply glared.

"No, no, I meant - hmm-hm -" But she never finished the thought. "So, uh, you'll tell us when we can see the target, right?"

"Of course. Would you prefer to see it in person?"

"Yes. At some point. I understand if time is of the essence, though."

"Same," her brother said, tone still unsettled.

"Then I shall begin the repair process as soon as possible. As you've said, it is likely that I will ask for your input before that process is completed. Hopefully I will at least have all of the interfaces operational. If not, I will find some other way to convey the visual feed to you."

"Thanks, Addie!" Shiyasa chirped, waving a hand goodbye. As the ghost bowed and vanished, the Camilan turned her attention back to the board. "My turn, right?" she asked, taking her brother's silence as an affirmation. "Hmm, then I do... this!" She pushed her token to its new location with a single outstretched toe. Alayo tilted his eyes forward, and a smile of indignant surprise spread across his face.

"Hey, Adamant!" he called. "Can she do that?"

---

System Olctaium
Low Orbit of Gas Giant "Carnelia", Native Designation Unknown

The Adamant Purpose and its escort appeared simultaneously, their orbits all predetermined, needing only minor adjustment. The choice to re-enter realspace so close to an existing body had several purposes, most of them stealth. The giant would do well to mask their heat- and grav-signatures - minor anomalies would be harder to notice against an irregular backdrop, when compared to the uniform vacuum of open space.

Naturally, it would do nothing to disguise them from simple visual observation. To this end, all 48 ships in the fleet were equipped with active camouflage, their surfaces displaying an image of the turbulent storms going on on the surface of the planet behind them.

Not that any of this made them impossible to detect by any means. Just harder to notice, especially if you didn't know that you were looking for anything in the first place.

The ships were not of uniform design. Many of them were small, no larger than a jet airliner, and served merely as sensory suites or comms relays. Others, larger, consisted mainly of a single, spinal-mount kinetic driver. Still others boasted more complete sets of armament - sandthrowers and lasers for more evasive targets alongside the more conventional array of kinetics. Aside from the Adamant Purpose itself, they were unmanned, responsive to their flagship, with only a relatively basic behavioral program to fall back on in the event of comms failure. The specific form of comms they were responsive to, tightbeam transmissions phased through slipspace, should ideally not be detectable to any enemy that wasn't directly between two of the ships, and they allowed the group to coordinate faster than the lightspeed limit would otherwise permit.

Said flagship was not the largest ship in the fleet, though it was large enough for the full array of point-defense that the largest platforms boasted. In fact, outwardly at least, there was nothing to distinguish it from the others as bearing any special importance.

Inwardly, however, the Adamant Purpose was a different class of entity altogether. A network of organic tissue permeated the whole of the structure, threaded finely into every system on board. Almost like the nervous system of a living animal. This tissue, harvested from twenty or so living Camilans, had been surgically connected into a single conscious being at the time of the Adamant Purpose's construction. Known as a shipmind, this being controlled the ship like its own body.

The flagship, of course, had one other major difference. In the heart of the vessel, contained in a form of biological stasis, were the bodies of the two twins, currently being repaired from the damages of slipspace. Though it would take several hours for their bodies to be sufficiently healed to exit stasis, their minds were already awake and active, convening with the shipmind in virtual reality.

For at least a few minutes after the fleet's re-entry to realspace, none of the ships did anything except observe their surroundings. Taking note of the other artificial structures in the system took first priority, especially if it seemed like any had noticed their arrival. Observing the surface of the lone rocky world - Planeia - took second priority. From their perch above the gas giant a few AU away, the ships' cameras could resolve detail down to the movements of a single person.

Adamant wasn't sure exactly what it was looking for yet. Labor camps, mass graves, public executions. Perhaps nothing so obvious would be visible. In any case, all the shipmind knew at the moment was that someone down there had asked for help, and it was in a position to do so. Call it public service, or giving back to the community. But exactly who, and in what manner, the shipmind was going to help, well, that had yet to be determined.

[Rojava Free State]

I'll let the American military handle this one. I know that SG-1 is exploring a recently discovered gate near Deir Ez-zour, but maybe SG-2 or 3 could be deployed to help out. I don't know, im not the president. Last time I talked to him, he was busy creating a space force, probably to defend against some aliens he annoyed the hell out of.

[Sangheili Mercenary Fleet]

CAS-Class Assault Carrier Untold Truth
Dueling Arena

Sparks flew off their energy swords every time the two clashed. Xaro parried and deflected the attacks of his opponent, Khiso 'Lasov. Even though this was supposed to be a training match they were using live weapons, however this was no problem for the two warriors as they have been doing this for years. The two stepped back and circled each other once again, their weapons crackling. Khiso saw a significant flaw in Xaro's attack. Xaro would drop his left shoulder just before he thrusted. That was everything Khiso had to know. If Xaro dropped his shoulder and attacked, Khiso would step aside just before his opponent attacked, which would result in Xaro overextended in his thrust. A perfect opportunity for Khiso to tackle his opponent.

Xaro dropped his shoulder again, signaling he was going to attack. Just what I wanted , thought Khiso. He waited for his opponent to attack, only to have the duel interrupted by a Unggoy messenger. "Fleetmaster!" the Unggoy said in a cheerful tone "Your presence is needed on the Control Room!". Xaro smiled and holstered his blade before walking to the exit of the room. Khiso sighed and cursed his bad luck for not being able to end Xaro's winning streak this time.

CAS-Class Assault Carrier Untold Truth
Control Room

The two Sangheili entered the Control Room, also called 'bridge' in human terminology, and made their way to the centralized bridge platform overlooking the rest of the room where they were met by the comms officer. "Honourable Fleetmaster!" the officer said as he saluted Xaro 'Razam "A couple of minutes ago we received a message from two Planeian entities. Would you want me to play the message?"

"Yes please." Xaro replied thinking the it would be of no importance.

The comms officer nodded and tapped on some holographic controls, seconds later, the transmission of Aiya Elanato and that of the Planeian government were played.

So it seems we have a business opportunity here. Xaro thought to himself, he turned to his comms officer and ordered him to send a reply.

TO: Barzo Snetpoka, leader of Planeia.

Salutations,

We've recently received your message in which you stated that there is a terrorist, named Aiya Elanato, within your territories wreaking havoc across your lands. Even though we are confident your armed forces can handle it, we'd like to help you in hunting down and exterminating Aiya Elanato and her terrorist group. In the meantime we'll discuss a considerable reward for our assistance.

Yours respectfully,
Fleetmaster Xaro 'Razam

[Planeian Rebellion]

"Situation report!" Aiya shouted.

"The antenna has been destroyed by a Regime precision strike, ma'am, and it looks like you really stirred the hive, Snets from all over the city are converging on the compound's position!" Trogblast replied. Aiya received real time images from her holowrist of Snetpokan forces advancing on her position, with armed squads en route and several gunships flying to the scene. She looked to her team.

"I need you all to advance to the extraction point, I'll go outside and provide you cover as long as I can." She said, taking a second to get a bearing on her powers.

"We're not leaving you behind, ma'am- "

"That's an order!" Aiya snapped back, before leaping and breaking a hole through the roof of the building as she flew high up into the air, a trail of magenta light following her path. Immediately she was fired upon by Snetpokan agents from the ground outside the building. She casted an aura that repelled their lasers, before diving towards the ground. Upon landing, she made a large impact that sent a shockwave all around her, knocking the agents off their feet.

Aiya looked over her shoulder to see her squad making a break for it through a nearby alley. They would soon reach the extraction point, but Aiya was not going to stop fighting until they were safe. Knowing that someone, anyone, could have heard her transmission motivated her to keep her men alive. She couldn't bare knowing any of them died with freedom just around the corner.

Her focus was diverted when just above, three gunships arrived at the scene. They immediately opened fire at Aiya's position, but her cunning reflexes allowed her to leap out of the way. Once out of harm's way she threw a bolt of energy at one of the gunships, catching its starboard flank. It spiraled out of control, crashing into another gunship. Of the remaining gunship, she glided towards it and punctured through its hull, catching the pilot and flying out the other end just as the ship exploded upon being hit by the fireball of the other two gunships. She let go of the pilot and drop kicked him towards a nearby rooftop from a non-lethal height.

"Fighter One, what's your position from the extraction point?" Aiya radioed.

"We're about 1 minute away, we'll deploy red smoke once there, over!"

Aiya was knocked out of the sky when suddenly she took a blow from a nearby sniper. The sniper had fired a tungsten shot at her. It was critical, but it did not pierce her shield. As soon as she got back on her feet, she flew back up in the air. She instantly created a telepresence to find the sniper, spotting him in an office window just down the street. She quickly glided towards his direction, dodging every shot he fired, until she broke through the window, slowing down and bouncing off the wall behind him back towards him, immediately roundhouse kicking him out of the window she came through. Hearing his scream as he fell, she flew back out of the window and rushed to catch him mid air. As he struggled, punching and kicking while in her arms, she decided to hold him via telekinesis instead, and thus his screaming resumed, after which she decided to drop him in another building.

"This is Fighter One, we've reached the extraction point and are heading home, over!"

"Copy that, Fighter One, I'll be joining you soo-" Aiya was interrupted when she realized the new predicament she was in. Several gunships, patrol hovercars, soldiers and ground tanks had managed to surround her every direction.

"Attention Aiya Elanato, you are a marked Level 0 Terrorist. Surrender now or prepare to be vaporized." One of the Snets spoke on intercom. "You have 10 seconds to comply."

"I'm going to need to be transported... fast" Aiya said, not preparing to back down for a single second.

"10... 9... 8... 7..." The countdown began. Aiya held her breath. She knew this was not her end, it couldn't be, but it sure felt like it. The weapons on the tanks and gunships charged, ready to fry Aiya into oblivion. The rain poured harder with each second counted.

"3... 2... 1... FIRE!" At once, every single cannon and rifle fired at Aiya's position, but at that moment a flash a light appeared where she once was and promptly she disappeared, the weapon's fire shooting at nothing.

Orbit above Planeia

Aiya appeared inside the teleportation chamber aboard the Remembrance, a resistance operated stealth frigate, a ship used for covert operations into Regime controlled areas.

"Punch it, now!" Aiya ordered the crew. Seconds later, the ship warped into deep space, away from Planeia, and detection. As Aiya caught her breath, she looked out a nearby port window to see Planeia become smaller and smaller as the ship traveled. She contemplated everything that had just happened. Taking everything into account, she reveled in the fact that her mission was accomplished, and that the galaxy was now aware of the situation. The two decade long situation.

She knew that allies were coming, both old and new. She smiled at the idea of reuniting with old friends who would likely be coming to Planeia's rescue. She rested easy in this fact, as soon all the efforts and fighting the resistance has been doing for the past 23 years would finally come to an end.

---

Unknown sector

The Remembrance finished its short journey in a sector of Planeian space that the Regime knows little about, far from any civilization. Ahead of the ship was a large ring shaped structure. It was several thousand miles in diameter and featured a surface made from carbon nanotubing.

"We are approaching the gateway." One of the crew in the bridge said to Aiya. She looked ahead at the ring, then moved forward to the console in front of her. On its screen it read "Enable Authorization" followed by a palm scan prompt. Aiya placed her hand in the prompt, and quickly a glowing orb appeared above the console. The console now read "Initiate Spellweave". Aiya placed her hand on the orb and immediately recanted the Dystan spell of teleportation. Outside the hull of the Remembrance, a large apparatus emerged from its belly. It was a large coiled antenna, and immediately fired a bright beam of light towards the gateway. When the beam reached the gateway, it opened a large portal within the ring.

The gateway was built 24 years ago as part of an initiative from the scientists and mages working at the Promethean Research Center, a jointly owned research center between then Planeia and Dyste located in the Dystan city of Calberona. After successfully mastering teleportation using Dystan magic, the research focus was shifted to using Dystan teleportation magic and Planeian science and technology together to achieve interdimensional and multiversal travel. The project only achieved interdimensional travel (i.e. traveling and existing within different dimensions of the same universe) before Planeian expats were recalled to Planeia and later trapped within its borders, thus producing the gateway the Remembrance was slowly approaching. After the fall of the Synthtopian Republic of Planeia and the rise of the Snetpokan regime and the Federation of Planeia, the gateway was accommodated by the resistance and repurposed to help hide the resistance headquarters and other refugees from Planeia from the Snetpokan regime. It's only activated using a special "encrypted" Dystan teleportation spell secured using Planeian cryptography, ensuring that even if found, the gateway can not be open by those not given access.

After clearing the gateway, the ship found itself within a pocket dimension existing outside the bounds of normal time and space. Many of the colors of this pocket dimension were inverted from those of the prime dimension, with the void of space being white instead of black. The laws of physics were also slightly different in the pocket dimension, allowing the Remembrance to travel even faster within its space without putting strain on the ship's inertial dampening systems.

The Remembrance traveled until it entered orbit around a peculiar planet. The planet was about half the mass of Earth and a quarter the mass of Planeia. Its oceans were green while its landmasses and vegetation were blue. This was the planet the resistance was using as its headquarters, orbiting a green colored star. It was named "Liberium" after the Planeian word for freedom, "Liberia". Currently, it's home to nearly 20 million refugees.

It was, however, not the most habitable of planets. Its atmosphere is toxic, thus requiring cities to be placed in domes, and an ever shifting climate threatened refugees with natural disasters. It's no wonder that the resistance are fighting to retake Planeia, rather than wait things out within the pocket dimension.

When Aiya returned to the surface of the planet, she was greeted by the cheers of her people. They cheered her and her team for the brave feat they achieved, having hope for a brighter future for Planeia and its people. But Aiya knew that this was just the beginning, and the war was far from over.

[Planeia]

Chairman's Office,
Arcthro Letium

Barzo Snetpoka looked down from his office's window at a trail of smoke from where the action today had taken place, seeing gunships and patrol vehicles circling the area and assessing damages. He knew that no one innocent was hurt nor killed, but in the interests of his goals his administration will be forging data about any victims, propping up IDs of long deceased citizens as victims of today's 'attack'. It was one of many of the tactics he and his regime would use against Aiya and her resistance forces.

As for the matter of the broadcast, he made sure his press officials sent out a counter broadcast immediately after destroying the signal, so as to undermine all the things Aiya had mentioned and forge good (or as good as possible) relations with the galaxy after the two decade long silence being finally broken.

Nevertheless, he anticipated that there will be those who come to the aid of the resistance, namely civilizations whose leaders were personal friends of Aiya's before the borders were closed. As such, he ordered the High Command of the Military to coordinate extra patrols along the borders and within major Planeian systems, especially guarding Olctaium. Three of the Navy's twenty E-500 Military Class motherships would be stationed to guard Olctaium alone. As the Ground & Air Force would fight resistance forces along the lands and skies of various planets and colonies across Planeian space, the Navy would patrol space and obliterate any who encroach in Planeian territory to interfere.

Barzo's gaze outside was interrupted when he received an alert on his holowrist that some mercenary group within the galaxy had sent him a communique. He quickly made a decision and sent them a reply.

The Federation of Planeia:
Office of the Chairman

---

TO: Fleetmaster Xaro 'Razam
FROM: Chairman Barzo Snetpoka
SUBJECT: Mercenary Services
ENCRYPTION: 100%

---

Hopefully this message reaches you well.

After careful consideration, I have decided to accept your offer. Your assistance in neutralizing this nuisance will be greatly appreciated. Please meet me and my military's High Command on Planeia next week where we can discuss the situation report, rules of engagement, and compensations for services rendered.


Barzo Snetpoka, Chairman of the Federation of Planeia

---

One week later,
Mothership FNS Forsan

"Admiral, we're picking up approximately 48 unregistered signatures entering Olctaium into orbit around Joon. They're using stealth systems and appear to be performing some sort of reconnaissance." An ensign informed Admiral Kraktar Yeeg, admiral assigned to Naval Security in Olctaium.

"Foreign encroachers or civilians, those ships are breaking Federation regs by being unregistered and using stealth tech. Deploy the interceptors and hail them." The admiral ordered. He was given a tachyon signal link to communicate with the unidentified spacecrafts. "Attention unidentified crafts, you are not registered with the Federal Ship Registry and are performing illegal actions in direct violation of Federal Law. Submit to the incoming boarding parties or you will be destroyed swiftly and indiscriminately."

Meanwhile, two carriers, escorted by several frigates and destroyers, deployed from Hangar Bay 06 and accelerated like hell towards Joon, where the unidentified crafts were orbiting. In addition to carrying an assortment of laser and plasma cannons, the carriers had multiple bays housing combat ready fighter crafts and drones. The frigates and destroyers escorting the carriers were also combat ready, carrying a similar arsenal of weapons. Together, they were prepared to engage any potential threats they faced.

[Planeian Rebellion]

Suddenly, the Remembrance appeared within range of the Adamant Purpose, seemingly materializing out of thin... vacuum. The crew of the stealth frigate hailed the Adamant Purpose as soon as it appeared.

"We're with the resistance, you have mere minutes to gather all your ships and dock together and with us before the Snets turn all of our ships into scrap metal. Once we're all docked, we can teleport the hell out of here." The voice began sounding urgent as the interceptor formation drew ever closer and closer. "If you want to live, we're gonna need you to trust us." The ship extended several of its docking arms, the end caps of which had a particular mechanical adaptability that indicated it was designed to mate with docking ports of any type.

[Camila I]

Damn, this place is crawling, Adamant noted to itself. The system was littered with patrolling fleets, numerous as swarming locusts. Three in particular, massive spherical structures whose grav signatures mirrored small planets', caught the shipmind's attention. Each one of those things almost certainly had enough firepower to take out a whole fleet at once. If its weapons were successfully brought to bear, the Camilan ships would not get a chance to retaliate.

The shipmind knew it didn't have much time. With the system on this high of alert, it would only be a matter of minutes before at least one eye fell upon its fleet. And once that happened, it wasn't likely that its camouflage would protect it for long.

Nevertheless, it was here to perform recon, and perform recon was what it would do. If the regime's response to foreign incursion was to open fire immediately, the shipmind would just have to hope it could phase out before taking lethal damage. And who knows, maybe it'd get lucky, and they'd try to warn it off first.

...

That planet is heavily industrialized. With that level of development, almost certainly a homeworld, or else a very early colony. No wonder the security was so tight. The shipmind felt a pang of reverence - this place probably held a special importance to its owners. It wondered if the gas giant it had chosen as its perch had any mythology surrounding it, as the other planets of Camila did.

All the worse, then, if this system had fallen to tyranny.

Before the shipmind could scan the rocky world any further, a light from one of the orb-ships flashed across its surface. Well, "light". It was some type of particle beam, the same type which had carried the initial distress call. The particle in question was unknown to the shipmind, but from the speed of the massive ship's response, that particle almost certainly had some very interesting properties.

However interesting, the massive ship had wasted the surprise advantage that this technology gave it. The beam wasn't an attack, it was a message. A warning - to accept a boarding party, or die.

You guys might regret that, the shipmind thought.

---

An ethereal glow in the corner of the Camilan's eye caught her attention, and she turned her eyestalk to face it. "Welcome back", she said coyly. "What's the news?"

The shipmind's avatar glanced around the room. Where once had only been bare stone walls and an exposed tongue of flame, now there were luxurious wooden panels, leather furniture, an ornate fireplace - carpets, tapestries, winding and plantlike metal lighting. The room would not be out of place in a mansion, except that it was designed for a weightless environment, with fixtures attached to walls and ceilings rather than held down by gravity. The odd geometry was unsettling, somehow - not helped by the two Camilans floating calmly in the middle of the room rather than standing on anything.

"Redecorating," the phantom observed simply.

"Yep," Shiyasa giggled, grabbing a notch in the wall to reorient herself facing the avatar. "We got bored with your game. Besides, it's good practice." What, exactly, this virtual exercise was practice for, the Camilan did not elaborate.

"So what is it?" Alayo repeated his sister's question.

"We've been detected. Detected, and given an ultimatum." The phantom waved a tendril symbolically, converting the room's surroundings into a replica of the shipmind's own perception. Together the three of them hovered in the blackness of space, with the nearby gas giant looming above them. Objects of interest (including the rocky world and all ships in the system) were magnified to be plainly visible, and a translation of the ultimatum flickered beside the ship that had sent it.

There was a brief pause as the two read the message. "How long do you think we have?" Shiyasa asked.

"Subjective time, probably a few minutes." The surgical and cybernetic modifications present in all three individuals allowed them to send nerve signals and process information faster than the baseline for their species - in times of emergency, much faster. The shipmind's estimate translated to only a few seconds in real time.

"Grant the boarding request," Alayo said. "We're here to learn about the situation, not piss anybody off."

"That amounts to taking a side," his sister replied, voice suddenly cool and business-like. He smiled, appreciating her quickness to play devil's advocate. Ultimately the shipmind would choose what course of action to take - their job was to lay out the pros and cons for it to consider.

"What do you mean?"

"Whatever that boarding party plans to do to us, it won't be possible to side with the rebels after they're finished. Either because we'll be their prisoners, or because they'll let us go with a tracking device - whatever the case, it doesn't matter."

"So we're going to run?"

"Well, yeah. There's no way we can get any more intel here, and we're not going to submit to the rape of our vessel. Firing on them is obviously out of the question. All we can do is try to escape with our lives. Maybe we can infiltrate a less-developed system once we're out. Do you have a better option?"

"Better, maybe not," the phantom interjected, "but we do have another option." It extended a tendril toward a point in space just below the Adamant Purpose, where a ship that wasn't with the boarding party had just shown up. As the newcomer's hail came in, the shipmind translated it and posted it next to its originator for the other two to read.

"...How long has that been there?" Shiyasa asked.

"Uncertain. It's partially stealthed even now. I have only just now picked up its presence, though."

"That's a trap," Alayo said simply. "That ship is on the same side as the one that sent the boarding party. If we do what it's asking, we're basically telling that big orb thing that we're willing to help the resistance, and either it, or the stealthed ship itself, will blow us out of the void."

"Maybe," Shiyasa said. "Or maybe it's legit. It's not like there's any way for the resistance to contact us that doesn't have some chance of being a trap."

"They could do it while there wasn't a trio of death-ships with their weapons locked on us," her brother countered.

"They might not have that luxury," she shrugged. "We have no idea what kind of pressure they're under. Maybe they decided that this was the best opportunity they'd get."

"The timing is exceptionally bad," Alayo insisted. "Even if it is their best opportunity, it's not good enough."

"Inʃan," Shiyasa leveled her eyes on him. "If I'm wrong about this, they'll fire on our ship. They might destroy us, or they might disable some critical system and take us prisoner. Even if they do, that's only three lives. Nine if you're being generous. As far as we know, they have no way to trace us back to the rest of our civilization. On the other hand, if we refuse to help that ship and it really is the resistance, and then they lose because of it, the consequences could be far graver. Depending on how oppressive the regime we're dealing with is, we could be condemning countless people to slavery, torture, or death. Even if we don't know for sure, we have to take the chance."

Alayo stared at his sister for a few moments. "Alright."

---

The fleet surrounding the Adamant Purpose vanished in an instant. Within moments, it had reappeared next to the Remembrance, its own docking equipment already extended in a gesture reminiscent of a handshake. All of the smaller ships were closely attached to the flagship via similar apparatus, lending the appearance of a scorpion carrying its brood on its abdomen.

As soon as the two ships were connected, the flagship flashed a message to the rebel craft, the light focused into a single beam so that no other ships would receive it.

You guys really know how to pick your moment.

[Planeian Rebellion]

As soon as the handshake was made between the Adamant Purpose and the Remembrance, the docking port on the Remembrance end shifted until it found a matching mechanism for securing itself with the other port, albeit a little more trickily since the Adamant Purpose had a more organic structure.

"Hold on, if you got arms, to whatever you can because this is gonna be one hell of a kick!" The voice on the transmission from the Remembrance messaged the Adamant Purpose. Suddenly, the Remembrance began glowing yellow light from its core. This yellow light spread across the hull of the entire vessel before traveling across the docking arms and surrounding the Adamant Purpose and every ship docked to it. A shock wave traveled across all ships, vibrating every hull, before suddenly every ship had vanished into nothing, mere seconds before the Federation interceptor formation arrived at that position.

---

The Gateway

The ships had reappeared just outside the gateway to the pocket dimension, having just teleported instantly to that location. The yellow light died down as the teleportation process finished. The Remembrance sent the Adamant Purpose yet another hail.

"Looks like we made it in one piece. Now, I'm not one to barge in without permission, but why don't we meet in the middle at the docking bay, I can get you up to speed on where we're going next. I can't explain the full situation yet, that's up to Dr. Elanato, but I can give you a general idea. Name's Captain Eddie Mercer, by the way, I'm the human Elanato put in charge of this big baby you're docked to." A sudden beep could be heard over the transmission, like a data transfer. "Now, don't want to intrude but according to transponder data transferred from your ship to ours, your ship's name is, if the computer here translated it correctly, the 'Adamant Purpose' and your ship is made of some materials that show an organic construction, correct? Before we meet, are there any accommodations you would like us to make? Anything toxic to you guys? Maybe you'd like us to come with suits or something?"

Aboard the Remembrance, a boarding party (a much friendlier one) was making preparations to enter the other ship, the crew bringing out supplies of food and water to give to the Camilans, and taking into account as much as possible any chemical compositions of food and water the Camilans might actually find edible. Ultimately Captain Mercer would later join this boarding party when the time actually came to board the Adamant Purpose.

[Camila I]

The two Camilans observed the docking and teleportation process as though there was nothing between them and the rebel ship. Despite the shock waves rattling their vessel, the two of them didn't react, as their real bodies still had most of their nerve function disabled. As the yellow light faded, taking their previous surroundings with it, they could see a large artificial ring ahead of them.

"It would seem that our gamble has paid off. At least for now," the phantom intoned.

"Paid off as well as it could have," Alayo murmured. "That maneuver just took any false flag operations off the table, permanently. I'd love to hear their explanation for it."

"We~ell," his sister said, sing-song, "they did say that if we didn't come with them, the regime's forces would turn us into scrap metal. Maybe they thought they were saving our lives."

"We~ell," came the irked response, "maybe we should disabuse them of that notion."

"We will have ample time to reconcile the situation with our new friends," the phantom said. "They are pinging our vessel as we speak." As before, the shipmind displayed a translated version of the message alongside the vessel that sent it. The Camilans took a moment to read it, their expressions becoming more and more confused.

"No mention of what that megastructure is?" Shiyasa asked.

"None so far," the avatar replied. It magnified a circular portion of it so that the surface detail was plainly visible. "It doesn't appear to serve either a residential or industrial function - one would expect a great deal more activity if it did."

"Yeah, looks lonely," Alayo said. "Probably some kind of gate, then. Perhaps a wormhole generator. Perhaps rarely used."

"Whatever it is," Shiyasa interrupted, "our friends didn't think it pertinent to tell us. But we do need to know the name of the specific human we're talking to."

"I guess we really aren't pressed for time," he said, eliciting a soft chuckle from his sister. Turning to the phantom, "So, Adamant, you already sent them our specs?"

"No."

"No?" The Camilan's eyestalk tilted forward in surprise.

"No. I had plans to send them a partial copy when it came time for us to receive our assignment. It would behoove them to know approximately what our fleet is capable of. But there is no reason for me to have sent them yet. We still do not know the full extent of these people's allegiances, nor precisely what it is we are getting ourselves into."

"So what data are they talking about, then?"

"I have no idea." The avatar's voice conveyed a hint of worry. "I can only hope that they mean scan data."

"They gave us the name of our own ship."

"Well, it is written right there on the side," Shiyasa pointed out.

"Yeah, in Maladi."

She shrugged. "It's not unreasonable to think that they've had prior exposure to our language. After all, we've had encounters with humans before."

Alayo turned to the avatar. "Have we scanned them back?"

"No. Penetrative scans are extremely rude." This response garnered only a laugh.

"So are we going to let them board us?" Shiyasa asked, addressing the final topic of confusion.

"I admit I cannot see much of a reason to accept or decline," the phantom said, "aside from the considerable inconvenience that such a procedure would impose."

"I don't get it either," Alayo said. "If they wanted to harm or sabotage us, there are much easier ways of going about it. And if all they want to do is meet with us, like they claim," he shrugged, "well, isn't that what we're doing right now?"

"It might just be a cultural thing," Shiyasa offered. "Maybe they like to convey important information face-to-face."

"And where exactly is the shipmind's face?" her brother retorted playfully.

"Well, maybe we should explain what the shipmind is."

"And anyway, is that a good enough reason to go through all that hassle? Just to comply with their cultural norms?" he continued, partially ignoring her.

"Yes."

"Yeah."

"It's really impractical," the male insisted. "Besides, we're still not done with the slipspace repair. Are you suggesting that we leave stasis early, travel to the airlock in a state of living rot, just so we can serve as intermediaries to the entity that's actually in charge in the first place? The one they're already talking to? What if they ask why our skin is peeling off?"

"We can explain about the slipspace decay..." Her voice trailed off.

"Whether we explain it or not, it's still horrifying. And again I ask, what is the point? To comply with their culture? I say if their practices are that inconvenient, then they should change them to better fit with reality. We've had to do that many times - it's not an unreasonable demand."

"We are assuming that that is the point, yes," said the phantom. "But we can ask."

"Yeah, let's do that, then."

---

Adamant Purpose, correct. That is also the name of the entity with which you are conversing. The organic material that you have scanned is my nervous tissue. This ship is my body - the inorganic components are under my direct control.

The purpose for which I have named myself is to aid you in restoring the legitimate rule of law to your civilization. To this end, I believe it would be best for you to fully update me on your situation, sooner rather than later. If you do not have the authority to do so, please put me in contact with someone who does.

As for your request to board me, I do not understand what purpose that would serve. Please elaborate.

[Planeian Rebellion]

"Oh I get it, you're a living ship type deal, no wonder the organic materials. Jesus, the computer could've told me that, why didn't it? Whatever. Forgive me for getting it wrong then." Captain Mercer transmitted in response. "In any case, I'd also like to apologize for our scans. For all we know, you could've been a Snetpokan ploy. We needed to cover our asses and find out all we could about you. That ring out there leads to the pocket dimension where the resistance and refugees from throughout the territory calls home, for now at least. It's hidden from Barzo's filthy hands and we intend to keep it that way for as long as we can. We'd be doing wrong to everyone in there if we let in any infiltration." Mercer explained, before clearing his throat. "Now, I have authority to explain the situation to you. But, Dr. Elanato wanted the honors, she's basically our leader. All I can say is, it's bad, like really bad. If that interceptor formation got to you before we had, they would have forcefully boarded you. Upon finding out that you're not Planeian, they would've either killed you, dissected you, enslaved you, or throw you in some megacity ghetto at the bottom of the food chain... like they almost did to me." Captain Mercer said before a long, somber pause. "...Look, we got a good look at you, and I'm sure you're eager to be briefed on the situation so, let's go on through, shall we?"

On the Remembrance, Captain Mercer invoked the same procedure Aiya had done to enable the gateway, recanting the same spell. The coiled apparatus emerged from the belly of the Remembrance and aimed at the gateway, before firing and emitting the same yellow light that surrounded the vessels during the teleportation process. The beam of yellow light hit the center of the gateway and activated the portal which lead to the color inverted pocket dimension, which could be seen from the outside with its white void and black stars.

The Remembrance then proceeded to undock with the Adamant Purpose, its adaptive docking port uncoupling with that of the organic ship, with the docking arm quickly retracting. Using small reactionless drives, the ship pushed itself a safe distance away from the Adamant Purpose before initiating a low factor warp towards the gateway, slow enough for the other ship to keep up.

"Make sure to maintain a maximum distance of 20 kilometers from us as you trail us. We'll be traveling to a planet called "Liberium", home of the resistance, where we'll meet with Aiya Elanato in her shuttle in orbit."

---

Low orbit of Liberium

Aiya's shuttle craft parked itself in orbit of the planet, waiting for the Remembrance to arrive with the new guests. She went over the report sent ahead by the ship's crew detailing the encounter and the details scanned from the ship. She was relieved to hear that thanks to the efforts of Captain Mercer and his crew, they were able to retrieve them and push the limits of teleportation to get them to safety before the Federation military could get their hands on them.

She was also fascinated by the reports of the ship being sentient. A sentient ship could put more value on its own life and keeping itself from being destroyed, and for that reason she believed that the guests would be valuable allies thanks to their no doubt superb ship-to-ship combat abilities.

[Camila I]

"Well, I was half right."

Alayo and Shiyasa watched the portal flicker open attentively. "Are you color-shifting that at all?" the male continued.

"No," the phantom replied, "that's either an effect caused by the portal itself, or just what the other side looks like." As the rebel ship's hail came through, it once again displayed it alongside the ship. "They didn't elaborate," was all it had to say regarding their message.

"Who cares if they elaborated," Alayo said, "what are you picking up from this thing?"

"No increase or decrease in gravitational pull," said the phantom, symbolically turning to watch the portal's activation. It put its hands behind its back and stared up alongside its two passengers. "And there are no particles or radiation hitting us that weren't before. I have no idea what the mechanism is. If I didn't know better I'd say it was purely a visual display."

"Any idea how they activated it?"

The avatar shook its head. "Tightbeam. If it's a code they haven't shared it with us; if it's a specific kind of light- or particle beam, they haven't told us how to replicate it."

"So we'll be stuck on the other side until they decide to let us out." The Camilan's tone was probing.

"That is correct."

"Is anyone else uneasy about that?"

"Not particularly," Shiyasa said, turning away from the rebel ship's message, which up to this point she had been busy reading. "Why in the hell would they tell us how to activate that thing? What if we gave that information to the regime? They'd probably lose on the spot. Whatever they're using for an HQ in there, I'm sure it's susceptible to bombing."

"I'm not saying it's suspicious or anything. Just that it makes us awfully dependent on them," Alayo said, giving his sister an expectant look.

"Well, you'd better get used to that," was all she said, turning back to their message. "I wonder why they're so confident that we're not a ploy by the regime after scanning us. Our ship's design is obviously very different from theirs even from the outside. What is it that they saw that made them suddenly willing to trust us?"

"Yeah, good question," Alayo mused. "Adamant? What do you think?"

"Their scan results came back with something so unfamiliar that the odds of the regime being able to reproduce it are sufficiently low. The phase drive, slipstuff, antimatter, antimatter containment fields, quantum processors, your implants, your biology, and me - any of these could be beyond the regime's capabilities, though it would be surprising if all of them were."

"Makes sense. I suppose we'll find out if that's true soon enough, when they finally get around to explaining what we're up against."

Outside, the rebel ship's docking arm detached from the Adamant Purpose as its captain explained their destination and mode of travel. "No free rides, I guess," Alayo laughed. When the captain explained that they would be required to maintain such a close distance, the Camilan's expression darkened. "What, are you afraid we'll get lost? Why not just tell us where we're going?"

"I think you know why," Shiyasa chided.

---

Understood. I will be behind you. I will appear to vanish, but I have sufficiently delicate gravitational sensors to track and follow you from slipspace. If you do as well, note that my signature will be reduced by a factor of 6550.

My maximum speed is approximately 6550c, which I am capable of accelerating to and decelerating from within a period of 20 minutes. If you go any faster I will not be able to keep up - if you stop more suddenly, I will fly past you.

I cannot send or receive transmissions while phased out. As such, I will plan to phase back in when your ship comes to a stop, or if there is any other unexpected change in your velocity.

[Dyste]

At the Promethean Research Center in Calberona, a Draconid with dark purple scales entered the hallways of the building long ago abandoned by the Planeians, as he did every so often to check up on things. His name was Karmak Eclipso, the Dystan Sage of Diligence. It was understandable why he of all people would be given clearance to this lab; after all, he was the one in charge on the Dystan side of designing it, aiding their visitors in understanding their teleportation abilities, and therefore was given full access to its resources. Sadly, with the disappearance of the Planeians, the laboratory had languished in obscurity, having no reason to keep on going. It took Karmak all his efforts to keep the place around in case they were ever contacted again.

Thankfully, his efforts were finally rewarded today, when he had managed to receive Aiya's transmission, and the transmission afterwards to disregard it. But his work with the people of Planeia made him realize that the former message was the one to listen to, and to send aid towards. Thankfully, actually getting there wouldn't be a problem; with gateway technology he helped devise, and the crafts and weapons left in the building, they had the means. The actual problem was convincing the Dystan government to send troops. Dyste generally avoided getting embroiled in conflicts like this, but he knew that getting back one of their best allies on the interstellar scene would be invaluable for Dyste.

What he got was... a platoon of soldiers led by a knight. Not even a Royal Knight, a regular, run-of-the-mill one. Granted, Sir Jamka Forseti was an up-and-coming Wind Draconid in the Dystan military and skilled in a variety of fighting styles, but having one of the famous Royal Knight would've really given him confidence... nevertheless, he gave them his instructions.

"Take a few of the crafts and try and get in contact with the resistance. I have some old friends from Planeia, and hopefully one might remember me. I will be at work fitting one more supplies here, using the black hole generator to power up some gifts for our allies. And once we rendezvous with them, I can arrive to give them what they need."

"But, Sage Karmak," Sir Jamka said, puzzled, "How will you be able to get there so quickly?"

The Sage smirked, handing the knight an odd device that appeared to be a miniature version of the gate they devised. "I literally wrote the book on the Laws of Teleportation, did I not? And do you think I have been a layabout these two decades and done nothing with the work we have done? Just get that to them and I can deal with the rest. May you be blessed with longevity and good fortune." He set up the crafts, and as they went, he checked the transmissions, hoping to be able to get in contact so he could give Dyste's aid to them."

[Planeia]

Chairman's Office

While the delegation of Planeian military officers went off to meet with representatives from the Sangheili mercenaries, Barzo held a meeting of his own with the heads of various departments of Federation government tasked with security, defense, and intelligence. They each sat at a large circular meeting table, holographic displays in front of each seat displaying pertinent information, and a holographic map at the center of the table showing Planeian space, with one closeup of Olctaium and Planeia at the core of the space. Barzo sat at the largest seat, closest to the window, outside a view of Arcthro Letium from so far up that one could see the cloud cover around the midsections of the city's tallest structures.

"According to the report, 48 unregistered ships exited a maneuver within Olctaium just outside the orbit of Joon." Fleet Admiral of the Navy Joz Fylo explained as he read the report on his display, "Intelligence suggests they used a sort of slipspace or hyperspace drive, which allowed them to evade detection by border defenses so far into Planeian space. Upon their arrival, they were seemingly performing reconnaissance within the system while using stealth tech. An interceptor fleet was dispatched from mothership Forsan to investigate and detain the occupants of the ships, but not before a rebel ship was spotted appearing along side them, docking with them and teleporting them out of the system mere seconds before the interceptors could arrive."

"Chairman Snetpoka, this is indicative of something much larger." Chimed in Director Hellia Chrystoz, a pale blue skinned and black haired woman speaking with a cold tone. She's the director of FedInt, or Federal Intelligence, the main agency tasked with the Federation's espionage needs, both at home and abroad. "We have several entities who are coming to the aid of the resistance whether directly or indirectly. Regardless of whether those ships that appeared within the system this morning were among them, we have confirmed at least one other nation: Dyste, an Earth nation. Within the hour, the signals intelligence division discovered signals from Dyste meant for reaching the resistance (our jammers prevents the resistance from receiving such signals of course). It seems the Dystans want to send a platoon of their troops to help the resistance, armed with the technology left behind in the Promethean Research Center, including the research center itself. While a platoon of them may not sound like much for our military to defend from, we need to treat this threat very seriously. Planeian technology aside, according to notes from Old Planeia archives, Dystan warriors are among the most strongest and fierce on Earth. Pair that with Planeian armaments, and you have a force to be reckoned with."

"Chairman, these are acts of WAR!" Exclaimed General of the Ground Force Exet Terz as he banged his fist on the table. "Foreign excursions and assisting the enemy. These nations have made it clear to us their intentions. I say it's high time we retaliate, and we can begin by initiating Project Black Sky as our first strike."

"No!" Barzo exclaimed. "...Project Black Sky is not ready... yet. In fact, Project Black Sky is merely our last resort." He got up from his chair before walking to the window to look over the megacity, seeing clouds and tall buildings for miles and miles. Hands crossed behind his back, he spoke again. "Something else is crossing my mind, however..." He said. "We know that the resistance uses teleportation. We don't know what powers their teleportation nor how to replicate it effectively, until today. That signal from Dyste has got me thinking. Before Aiya went underground, she purged various archives and databases. Among those was the entirety of all the research performed on Earth. What did we have on Earth? That's right, the Promethean Research Center, and what was its purpose? To exchange research between Dyste and Planeia. Ladies and gentlemen... their teleportation technology is powered by Dystan magic." He said with a smirk before turning to face the table again. "I want all resistance cells operating on Planeia to be found and raided before the end of today. I want to extract all the information we can out of them about the extent of their teleportation technology and how they're using Dystan magic behind it."

Director Chrystoz smirked as she heard Barzo's orders. "Your wish is my command, sir. I'll have my best men on the case, and several raiding squads organized."

---

Slums,
Arcthro Letium

Outside a large seemingly abandoned building approached a tall, slender Planeian woman. She was hooded, so as to not be seen by any nearby recognition surveillance. As she approached the building, she hurried through the entrance before arriving at an elevator in the building's lobby. She quickly removed her hood, revealing short silver hair. She reached for a panel next to the elevator, which was secretly a palm scanner. As she touched it, she used her authentication to activate the elevator, and her name appeared on its screen.

Yariel Sypher. She was personally chosen by Aiya to be head of the resistance's covert operations arm, performing dangerous missions deep in Federation territory to gather intelligence about all current activities being done by the Snetpoka regime.

The elevator opened after she gave her authentication, and she quickly stepped in. The doors closed behind her before the elevator swiftly ascended to the top floor of the building. Reopening, they revealed a large control room with various individuals carrying out busy assignments. Resistance members, the majority of which were Planeians, but some were representative of other species, such as humans, mainly those marginalized and persecuted in Planeian society thanks to the Snetpoka regime.

Taking off the rest of her hood to reveal her outfit underneath being a white jumpsuit with a small utility belt, she approached a hologram at the center of the room that depicted the planet of Planeia, around it several resistance officers who immediately came to brief her on operations. "Ma'am we still have no leads on the nature of 'Project Black Sky', our informants can only speculate it's some sort of weapon being developed by the Federation."

"At the present moment, investigating Project Black Sky is not our priority. Do we have any more allied visitors besides the fleet encountered by the Remembrance toda-" Yariel was interrupted by the loud, blaring sound of an alarm going off within the entire building.

"RED ALERT, FEDERATION RAID IMMINENT." The intercom alert said. Yariel and the officers quickly rushed to a nearby window, only to spot multiple patrol vehicles and gunships surrounding the building.

"Evacuate the building, NOW!" Yariel ordered everybody. Just then the elevator doors were breached open. FedInt agents in black power armor rushed through, having climbed down the elevator shaft. They immediately began firing into the room, lasers flying like a light show. The resistance operatives all took cover, withdrawing their weapons to fire back at the agents. It was red lasers vs blue lasers, with the Federation's weapons being more designed to kill, while the resistance's weapons were designed to be less lethal (using a method of rapid freezing that renders enemy combatants frozen and incapacitated, aka cryo guns).

"We need to move!" Yariel shouted. "Someone provide covering fire!"

"I'm on it!" Shouted one of the officers as they popped out to fire at all the FedInt agents, meanwhile the rest of the officers and Yariel rushing towards the window to break through and scale to the floor below.

They were, however, ambushed there. Several FedInt agents subdued each of them with shock gauntlets. Everyone including Yariel were swiftly handcuffed and detained by the FedInt agents, then forced onto their knees. The agents stood in front of them, their red visors looking down from the helmets of their power armor. Behind them came through Director Chrystoz, wearing a black jumpsuit for what she calls field operations. She walked in front of the line of agents, standing particularly in front of Yariel.

"Ah, my dearest old friend Yariel Sypher. What are the odds of running into you again." She said. "Looks like I have you in quite the predicament, reminds you of the good old times back in the academy, doesn't it? Let's proceed to the matter at hand, I know the resistance is using teleportation tech powered by Dystan phenomena, and I want to know how it works and whether you use it to get to the resistance HQ. If you can provide me with coherent answers, I can help reduce your sentencing."

"Blow it out your ass, you fucking Snet." Yariel retorted, refusing to answer a single question.

"Tsk tsk, Yariel. You've been hanging out with the humans for so long that you've adopted their fowl language. Don't worry, though, Federal Intelligence has ways to make you talk; I have ways to make you talk." Chrystoz said before turning to the agents. "Take the officers to the transport and execute all non-essential personnel."

Yariel and her crew were rushed and pushed along outside, passing by lines of resistance members on their knees. Yariel looked and saw a FedInt agent at the far end of the line, a laser pistol in his hand outstretched to aim point blank. She saw the cold look of his power armor helmet's red visor and respirator as he looked down at the resistance member on their knees before him. Without a thought, he began casually executing them one by one. Yariel cringed and looked away, not wanting to see the personnel she worked so closely with for years be murdered in cold blood, instead hearing the sound of a laser pistol firing and ash burning repeatedly, and the terrified cries and screams of those still alive and awaiting their deaths.

Yariel and the five resistance officers that followed were pushed into the back of a prisoner transport. The doors slammed shut behind them, and the transport flew off just as the last non-essential resistance member had been silenced outside.

[Doppio Giudici]

Compound Royal Common 3
2134, 112 After Salvation/After Seth

"You want me and my creations to solve this problem of yours?"

"Yes. I want this resolved and I want this resolved quickly."

There was the sound of someone adjusting themselves in what a long time ago, people would call a computer chair. In the darkness of the room, there was only the sound of breathing, words, and background noise; along with the sweet smell of spiritual smoke.

"I assume you are busy, Comrade?

"I can't do everything myself, I am 13. You..You are a grown man, and soon enough you will have to lead your group of our people."

More adjustments, a deep breath in and then out, a tired, or perhaps annoyed sigh. Another, younger set of lungs breathed in the humid air and then released it out, continuing the cycle of in and out.

"And how do we know we can trust this woman?"

"I know we can trust her, and you...You know to trust in me."

"Very well.. Any suggestions where I could get some extra recruits? I don't know if I intend to move in with all of my 'Hate Killers', they are a bit hard to conceal. I'm not going to gamble all of my children on any given endeavor, or at least, not right away."

"Sell-swords, cutthroats, and Class-Five Treasonists."

"Expendable I see. So this is the kind of operation you want."

"Everyone else is busy Comrade. I am dealing with the considerable losses from last year, along with The Parasites continued movements towards us. Arthur is preparing our people for war in our own backyard, along with securing PSX-182. Our people are burdened Comrade, these are not easy times."

"I see. I apologize Comrade. Blessings be upon you, and may your visions be clear and without darkness."

"I hope so too, Zdeno. I hope, but all I can see is coldness, burning ashes, and graves. Godspeed Zdeno, you will need it.

There was the sound of someone sitting up and getting up from the chair, before carefully and slowly moving out of the room without tripping. Two large cloths were moved apart to move between them, before two doors were opened on the other side. Stepping into the rest of the world, Zdeno closed his eyes for a moment and gave a silent prayer for security.

[Planeian Rebellion]

The Remembrance crossed the portal into the pocket dimension, suddenly going faster as the ship adapted to the physical laws of the dimension. Adamant Purpose would also notice a change even from slipspace, entering a dimension in which the laws of physics of the greater universe are drastically relaxed. As soon as the two ships crossed into the gateway, it closed behind them, as a precautionary measure to keep any unwanted tails out.

They traveled for nearly half an hour before finally coming in view of a small planet orbiting a "black" star. The Remembrance exited warp and used its reactionless drives to enter a stable orbit around the planet.

Aiya's shuttle approached the frigate, immediately docking on its port side docking port. As the doors between the ship and shuttle opened, she quickly proceeded to the bridge of the stealth ship, greeting Captain Mercer.

"Greetings, ma'am." Captain Mercer said with a salute as he spotted Aiya. "Our new friends should be coming out of slipspace here soon. In the meantime, you have the conn." He said before taking a step back from the Captain's chair.

"Thank you, Captain." Aiya said humbly before stepping forward and taking a seat in the chair. She waited until the Adamant Purpose exited slipspace. As soon as it was within view, she initiated a hail to Adamant, this time sending a video broadcast of herself in the bridge.

"Greetings, I'm Aiya Elanato. I'm the one who sent the call for help, which you have most likely come to answer. On behalf of the resistance, I would like to welcome you to Liberium, home of the resistance and the Planeian Republic's government in exile." Aiya said, eyes locked with the lenses of the camera drone in front of her. "Now, I know you're eager to understand the extent of our situation here. It all started 23 years ago. Barzo Snetpoka, CEO of Snetpoka Industries, became mad with power. After amassing his own private military, he ordered the assassination of Prime Elder Fos Kolee (which his government denies). In the resulting chaos, he seized the opportunity to orchestrate and stage a coup within the Planeian Self Defense Force, garnering the support of half the Republic's military against the other half, meanwhile taking control of all levels of government and sending a fake emergency recall of all Planeian expats outside Planeian territory, many of whom were ignorant of what was going on. At the end of the coup, he and those loyal to him emerged successful. He installed a "Federation", named so solely in title, and drastically changed our government from the fair republic it once was. He closed the borders and prevented any outside communication, trapping us here under his rule. In order to garner support among the populace of what will later be his most cruel policies, he poisoned our waters with chemicals that make one suggestible to propaganda. This would instill a fascistic zeal among what was once a peaceful species coexisting with others. The regime would take advantage of this and place the well being of pure blood Planeians above those of anyone else, and those who were not in said category, even those who defended such people, would be ostracized, downtrodden, sometimes outright killed in genocidal cold blood. Of the remaining society, he would install a police state, mass surveillance intruding every day life to enforce his regime's illegitimate laws. Those who would even literally think about opposing the regime face public execution." Aiya said, before taking a somber pause.

"I knew early on this was not the Planeia I once knew and grew up in. Serving as the Chairwoman of Xeno Affairs at the time, I personally knew Barzo, what he was like, and knew his intentions long before he installed his government, and as a result I went rogue at an opportune time. His media would go on to brand me as a terrorist, as a result. Just before going underground, I did something that would forever give us a slight advantage on the regime. In old Planeia, we operated a joint research initiative with a nation on Earth called Dyste, a nation that uses magic more than it does technology. With their help (of course in exchange for our help in helping them achieve extensive space travel and infrastructure) we were able to use their magic to perfect a form of teleportation. It was still not widely used throughout Planeia, but it lead to the technology that enables us to be here in this pocket dimension. I have stolen the technology and purged all traces of it from Planeian archives before the regime could get its hands on it, and I have many of the original researchers working for the resistance's science division. The tech has proven to be an effective tool for the resistance, as you saw when we rescued you from those interceptors in Olctaium. This is how we've managed to hold out for so long." Aiya took another shorter pause before continuing.

"The regime is in control of the full might of the Planeian military. It still retains its power from before the coup, and has even grown ten fold in strength and numbers especially thanks to Barzo's defense focuses. Alone, we stand no chance against it. But with others on our side, we can stand our ground, fight back, liberate our people from the regime's control, and drag Barzo out of his crystal tower in Arcthro Letium and exile him to the furthest reaches of the universe where he can never do any harm ever again." Aiya leaned in and looked closely into the camera lens. "Can we count on you and your nation to help us retake our home?"

[Doppio Giudici]

OOC: Star System and Leadership Personalities were randomly generated

Eridu System
Heartship "Creation"

Planeians had left what appeared to be, or rumored to be, 700 colonies. A fragment of a fleet had moved into position around what appeared to be one of the many leftover colonies. It was said that 23 years ago, this change had happened, and all of this was left to rot or be picked over by salvage operations or pirates. If the warning signal had gone out just ten years ago, they wouldn't be in the position to even receive it or understand it. If it had been sent out thirty years ago, the complete ruin of most of Beta Quadrant would leave most of the galaxy unable to hear the plea from Aiya. Last year, the mighty Prole Confederation had been locked in war mostly alone and been fighting a number of Star Nations of equal size, while also dealing with a horrible parasite menace.

High Prince Zdeno leaned over the command panel deep inside the center of his Heartship. The Combat Information Center fed into smaller CICs that commanded his mighty ship of 3 kilometers. He had the backing of 36 "Inferno" Class "Razers" 200 meters long and 4 "Iron Shield" Class Destroyers, 1.5 km long; which made up what was known as a "Standard Deployment Attack Unit". He also had two more "Standard Deployment Transport Units", which meant 12 "Earth Mover" Class Medium Carriers, each. The "Earth Movers" could carry 75,000 people, and had still have space for supplies, vehicles, and other things. Each of the ships currently carried supplies for such a number of people, for three months, and was 1.5 kilometers long. Each of these transports had 1,000 Prole Confederation Interstellar "Ground Pounders" from the PC Defense Force Army, along with 4,000 Nidus "Sellswords" equipped with surplus PCDFA gear from about ten to twenty years ago. Effectively, this gave him 12 divisions of troops, 3 of which were armor. Infantry moved around in tracked vehicles with sturdy armor and 30mm railguns, along with "Tank-Buster" Kinetic Energy Missiles. Standard gear also included liquid armor, helmets that provided full coverage and electronic heads-up displays, and combat exo-suits.

Communications with Eridu of the Eridu System took some time and translation, but he got them up and running with his large pool of technicians. This interpersonal bureaucracy seemed eager for a fight and very interwoven, despite being a world covered with domes that kept the hundreds of millions alive. There was nowhere for him to land any of his ships for refuels and repairs, in fact he only found a space he could safely land one of his smaller transport ships. The world could field easily a million troops to fight him, and despite their technology having progressed below his own, the population might attack his forces in mobs, and he would be outnumbered by hundreds to one.

This world had potential, Yellow stars were very rare and people prized them heavily. This barren world had the work force and area to become a considerably interesting mining world, or a production center. Communications that fed on their jingoism did lead to some of them accepting the idea of being hired to help liberate the home world. The Jovian world with 50 moons in the system and the rock world would both serve as solid places to setup spaceports for traveling fleets or mining facilities. Despite the world being so poor compared to other yellow systems he saw before, they insisted on being paid 5 times what he was expecting to pay them. He did some math and did some thinking, before becoming certain that if he hired as many of them as he could, which would be over a million of them, it would come out to 30 billion Trade Units. He made a down payment of 1/8th of his food reserves and was able to hire 5,000 of these Eridu mercenaries for each of his "Earth Movers". The forces he hired were already well trained and drilled, and would only need to be brought up to speed with the new kit that they would be issued, which made him glad he brought enough weaponry for such things. The rest of the money would come in long term mining contracts, that would result in typical costs for a world much wealthier.

High Prince Zdeno let out a sigh and sent a message to the other systems in the area, using a series of scouts he hired. They would travel out about three systems in all directions and form a net of 20 systems, which would spread word of what was happening. Perhaps he could help unite whatever people had been left outside the old Planeian homeworld, and find out about the squatters or Star Nations that lived in their ruins.

[United Nations Confederation of Earth]

Admiral Andrew Cunningham,
Aboard Punic Class Carrier, Ark Royal

Admiral Cunningham sat in his chair aboard the bridge of the Ark Royal, Flagship the UNCN 7th Fleet. Outside the noisy bridge, he could see the ships of the 6th, 9th and 11th Fleets alongside his own 7th Fleet. The Taskforce assembled was headed towards the staging ground for the potential conflict brewing on the Mining World of PSX-182. This was the largest gathering of UNCE warships since the Great Galactic War almost five years ago. The Taskforce had just exited slipspace on their final stop before they reached the staging ground.

"Nimitz, what's the status of the Fleet?" Asked Cunningham to the Ark Royal's A.I., who helped Cunningham run the 7th Fleet as well as the Ark Royal.

"All ships reporting green. Though, the Destroyer Charlestown is reporting some issues with its Slipspace drive, though they assure us that it isn't anything critical and any repairs needed can be made within the hour." Nimitz reported.

"That's good to know. I want you to keep me posted and inform the other Admirals, they'll need to know that we will be cating up to them if the Charlestown does indeed require any repairs."

"Understood Admiral."

"Admiral, we are getting a priority one message from FLEETCOM. It's Fleet Admiral Williams, Sir." Announced Evelyne, the Ark Royal's Chief Communications Officer.

"Better not keep him waiting then, put him on screen." Cunningham responded, getting out of his chair and turing towards a screen directly behind his seat. An image of a ageing sixty year old man appeared dress in the Navy Blues dress uniform. Fleet Admiral Williams had been his senior back in the Navy College in Sydney when Cunningham had joined the college.

"Admiral Williams," Cunningham spoke clearly as he saluted. Williams returned the Salute before he replied.

"It's good to see you again Admiral, though I wish it were under better circumstances."

"Why, has war already broken out over PSX-182?" Cunningham asked with concern, if the UNCE Taskforce wasn't there it could become a serious problem as it would place the Taskforce too far away to arrive for the crucial opening battles or too far away to effectively to respond from a pre-emptive strike against the UNCE.

"No, not yet at least. This is something else. About a fortnight ago the UNCIA picked up a transmission coming from a world called Planeia." Williams explained. Cunningham furrowed his brow, he had never heard of any world by the name Planeia.

"I don't expect you to know it. Hell, we didn't know it existed until the transmission a week ago. The UNCIA has done some digging but they haven't found out as much as we like. The situation on Planeia as we understand it is as follows. Plania has been taken over by Barzo Snetpoka, a CEO of a corporation who has turned into a despotic dictator. In the transmission, among the crimes he has been accused of includes executing 'any who oppose him in a genocidal rage', though the UNCIA is looking into that claim to determine if there is an actual genocide occuring. The resistance to his rule is led by a woman called Aiya Elanato, an ex-scientist, for the last 23 years the resistance has fought against Snetpoka but is on their last legs as it stands currently. The President has seen fit to dispatch the 7th Fleet along with the 12th through 14th Marine Expeditionary Forces to the Resistance's aid."

"Is that wise? We are on the verge of war for PSX-182, is splitting the Taskforce for a second war really a wise idea." Cunningham inquired, orders were orders after all but that didn't mean that they weren't always good ones.

"I know, I have the same doubts as you, but the decision has been made. Fortunately war over PSX-182 isn't likely in the immediate future so there is some leeway in all of this."

"Understood Sir, am I to head to Planeia right away?"

"No, Snetpoka has deployed the Planeia Navy to keep out any forces that attempt to enter Planeia Space to aid the rebels. You are to wait just outside Planeia Space and attempt to make contact with the rebels in order to offer our assistance to their cause. We aren't yet aware of the Resistance's location nor how we are supposed to contact them, so it will be up to you to make contact with them once you arrive."

"Any detail's on Planeia's defences? I don't like the idea of going in blind."

"The UNCIA is working on that. You should expect a full report by the time you arrive if not shortly after that. I'm sorry, I know that's not ideal but that is the best we can offer you at this time."

"I don't like it but I'll make do Sir,"

"That's all I can ask. I'll forward you the transmission from Aiya that we received so you can view it. Your a good Admiral but I wish you luck all the same."

"I'll take being lucky over good any day."

"I would too. Take care Andrew, Fleet Admiral Williams out." Cunningham gave a salute as the image of Fleet Admiral Williams disappeared. Most people from the UNCE could all remember the Great Galactic War, how it had dragged on for 28 years, the millions of dead from the UNCE alone. Cunningham hoped that this war would be shorter, for his and his men's sakes. Turning back to face the crew of the bridge he saw them all turned facing him, waiting expectantly for their orders.

"Nimitz, signal all 7th Fleet and 12th, 13th and 14th Marine Expeditionary Force ships. Tell them to rally around the moon of the 3rd planet of this system, further orders and briefing pending. Evelyne, inform the other Admirals of our situation. As for the rest of you, I want you all to work your hardest so to ensure this operation runs as smoothly as possible. You have your orders, we're going to war." Cunningham sat back down in his chair as the bridge sprang to life, issuing orders, liaising with other ships, plotting the course for the rendezvous at the moon. Turning his chair around to face the screen Fleet Admiral Williams had just been on, he watched the markers indicating the 275 warships with their 151 support vessels, 73 Assault Ships and 131 Prowlers that made up the 7th Fleet detach themselves from the Taskforce. If the 7th Fleet's appearance of over 600 ships appearing didn't get the resistance's attention he didn't know what would, well, it would certainly get the attention of the Planeian Navy for better or worse

"Nimitz, when we arrive have all ships at battle stations and all carriers ready to scramble Combat Fighter Patrols the moment we arrive." Cunningham ordered, they were going to be prepared should the Planeia Navy prove hostile to their presence, even if they were outside Planeia Space.

"Of course Admiral. Should I also prepare the 96th Reconnaissance Squadron for when we arrive?" Nimitz inquired, his holographic avatar flickering to the small projector next to the admiral.

"Yes, they'll launch immediately when we arrive. If the UNCIA doesn't have that report ready by the time we arrive I at least want some information the enemy's capabilities."

"Of course Admiral, I'll see to it right away."

[Doppio Giudici]

Heartship 3, "Greater Good"
"Vosporos" System

The message was broadcast via a very advanced and very expensive arrangement with several cooperating allies. Cost savings had come, but it had come in the signal being so wide in how it was sent, that when blasted via the portal, pretty much anyone would receive the signal. It also didn't send an image, to save on cost. It was just sounds and only for maybe a minute or more. Close to 30 systems might get the signal and get it clearly, but that's what it took to make sure the cost was low enough and the microfleet sent out would get the message.

"Bodycount, body count, bodycount. That's what level we have sunken to. How many warm bodies can we make? How many warm bodies can we get? Can we use cold bodies?"

The sound of someone spitting something out*

"Gauh.... It's amazing.... It really is."

The sound of footsteps, moving left to right in front of the listener, then back to left. Pacing back and forth perhaps.

"There was a time when we weren't back then, but were we really ourselves at such a time? We're either eating rations and hiding in bunkers, or we're eating rations and hiding on fortress worlds. People want what belongs to us, we suffer, we bleed, we hold onto what is our own. Others want what others have, we suffer, we bleed, we return the objects to who they belong to. Peace is like being drunk to us. We wake up and we regret everything, but the present is just pain and stiffness."

There was the sound of movement and then something moving closer to the listener, before a soft voice close to microphone. The sound of a young child, perhaps barely even in puberty, a girl.

"Our ancestors have given many, many great speeches. We have waged many wars in the name of peace, love, honor, freedom, and karma. I myself, even at this young age, have given a few really good speeches of my own..... We lost a lot of people. We have gone from having everything we ever wanted and longing to earn out keep, to bleeding like our people have never bled before. We have witnessed darkness that our ancestors wouldn't be able to comprehend and we are burdened that it didn't happen to us. Survivors guilt..... That is what we are...Survivors.....And so I say to you...All of you...Each of you...Your names one by one..... That you will get through this, just like your grandfathers did, and their grandfathers, and so on, for two thousand years. You will get through this and your grandchildren will live in your shadow, and seek to live up to your legacy, just like you have all your lives before this. It has been done for 2000 years, over a hundred generations, and it will be done one more, and then another, and then another. But...I say to you...All of you...each and every one of you....You will do it your way...and it will be different from what is before....You will reinvent the wheel...It's been done a hundred times...but reinvention is what it is.... Please...Keep me in your thoughts..Even as I am too far way to hear them...and remember.... Seth and Richard are not to pray to, but they can hear you. The Enlightened One will hear your prayers, if that is what you need. I will not judge you for your beliefs, they were our God for a long time for a reason. That is all Comrades, godspeed."

[Camila I]

When the Adamant Purpose shifted back into realspace, it was already in orbit. No further adjustments needed to be made.

After a brief delay, the Camilan ship reciprocated the hail, using the same video format that Aiya had used to encode her own message. The feed showed the Camilans hovering in what appeared to be empty space, just as they perceived it themselves. Above them, the rebel's home planet could be seen looming, and further away, the black star sending its black rays into the pale void.

The data that the shipmind originally pulled was simply a record of the simulation that the Camilans were in, and thus could be viewed from any direction, or used to construct a 360 degree panorama. However, converting this record into Aiya's preferred format forced a single point of view to be taken, and as such, the Camilans appeared to turn and face the camera. From their perspective, they were simply looking at the Remembrance, greatly enlarged and with the rebel leader's broadcast playing alongside it.

"Shiyasa wo Ilhato," one of the Camilans introduced itself, "and this is my twin brother Alayo." The creature's voice was light and fluttery, like a songbird's, though it had no trouble mimicking the English language. "We're Adamant's advisors."

"This," said the phantom, "is the avatar I use to communicate with them." Its voice sounded like an artificial version of Shiyasa's. "And now with you. Before we say anything else, I must request one thing from you. A shipment of materials in order for us to repair our craft. Though the quantity is small, the list is long, so I am transmitting it concurrently over radio." The list was indeed very long, and, curiously, consisted mostly of organic compounds. After each item came the requested quantity - in total, no more than a few hundred kg. "Normally, we would conduct the repairs entirely on our own, but as this requires mining and synthesis, it would be far faster and more efficient to rely on the infrastructure you already have in place."

"Ahem," Shiyasa mimicked the sound of throat-clearing. "Without further ado. Your question."

"You can count on us," the other Camilan, Alayo, said. "As for our nation, we can't make any promises yet."

"Each shipmind and citymind is, for the most part, an independent actor. It would be up to each of them to decide whether or not to help you." The twins carried on each other's line of thinking quite easily, as though what needed to be said was obvious to both of them.

"And that would be after we sent them a message asking them to."

"That was what we were doing when you made contact with us. Gathering intelligence. Our fleet is armed, but our first priority was to act as scouts. The more concrete evidence of tyranny we could send back, the more ships are likely to be sympathetic."

"Bu~ut, you thought it was a better idea to bring us here immediately. So that process was kind of cut short."

Shiyasa tilted her eyestalk at the camera. "Maybe you were right," she chirped. "It's hard for us to say at the moment. In any case, we believe what you've told us so far. Nothing we observed on Planeia's surface contradicts it, and some of what we observed lends credence to it."

"As for whether any other shipminds will believe you? We'll just have to see."

At this point, the phantom began to pace in front of its two advisors. "It seems," the ghostly presence said, "that your objective is to dismantle the regime completely. As well it should be. To this end, removing Snetpoka from power will not be enough. He would be replaced. It will be necessary to crush his society under our heel, and rebuild it from the ground up. If what you say is true, and the military is totally loyal to him, then we will have quite the task ahead of ourselves. Even just counting the forces stationed in Planeia, the regime is obviously a strong opponent."

"Ha! Yeah right!" Shiyasa interrupted, making some kind of incomprehensible gesture with her tendrils. "It doesn't matter how many ships he has. Seriously, it doesn't. He can't track us through slipspace. We were able to infiltrate as deep as we wanted into his territory, and we were able to escape unharmed afterward. We can literally do whatever we want to him."

The phantom hesitated, then continued speaking in a calm tone. "My advisor is correct. We needn't engage his fleets. We can slip past them and target his infrastructure. It will, at that point, be up to him to force us into a direct engagement. A task that, with our current knowledge, seems to be beyond his power."

"That strategy is all well and good," Alayo interjected, his voice dark, "but it begs the question. You guys can teleport, too. So why haven't you already won?"